44. Jealousy and Rejection
Cheerful on the outside, lonely on the inside that was how Cassidy goes about her days. It was her defense mechanism months after her dad, then her mom passed away.
She would adore her twin brothers whenever they visited her for holidays, she loves them and they care for their big sister the same way. Cassidy had insisted that they stayed in a private school where their dad had enrolled them in, where Cassidy had gone throughout her younger days.
Four more years and they will be together again unless they wanted to study somewhere else and that was fine with her cause she loves them and she wanted them to be happy. With all that had happened in their life, her little brothers deserved to be happy. While Cassidy, well… Cassidy will make sure she’d make everyone happy. She just needed to dance and let herself go.
It was two weeks later when Rowan was back at the club and the man looked pissed that Cassidy was still twirling around the pole the second he entered the high-end club. Rowan watched as her legs were tightly wrapped around the steel pole, and his mind was quick to imagine how would it feel to have her legs wrapped around his thighs and let her climb all over his body just like she did on the pole.
The man groaned but took a seat at the bar when Rocco greeted him. “Come on, sit down, you’re not the first person to have let her sink her hooks on you,” Rowan smirked and decided to entertain himself with the bartender, it seemed that he had a lot to say.
Being the youngest of four and having three older sisters who gossip while they’re breathing, made Rowan recognize the signs when someone was the biggest gossip. And he could tell that the bartender was it.
“Rocco,” he offered his hand and Rowan was no snob that he would decline the friendly gesture when he offered back his name knowing Cassidy would probably tell the guy already anyway. The last time he was there, Rocco didn’t introduce himself since Rowan was too shocked to find Cassie there that he wanted to get her out of the club immediately.
Rowan knew he had an in with Rocco being one of Cassidy’s friends at the club. He didn’t have to like it, but he needed to play nice with her friends if he wants to get to know her better. He cursed when the stop himself, that was not how it was supposed to sound in his head. He should forget about her, he went back to Babes for a release it has been a tough couple of days at the office.
Hmm… Maybe I should go for the blonde woman sashaying her way between tables offering lap dances for the men.
His thought was abruptly interrupted by the man behind the bar, “She’s watching you dude. Huh, that’s new, I think she’s jealous that you’re watching Ivy… Bourbon?” Rocco offered, remembering his last drink at the bar when he waited to take Cassidy home.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Shitty day at the office?” Rocco asked eyeing Rowan who was still in his white shirt and tie.
“Shitty week.” The week had been dragging him down. Having three clients snatched from under his nose by his competitor tends to do that to Rowan. He owned a financial advisor company, which was one of the biggest ones in the country. Rhodes used to be the first, but since he passed away, Rowan had been reeling in Rhode’s unsatisfied clients and business had been good. It was all because Rhodes’ company was taken over by his under-qualified partners and since then their business had been suffering. Badly.
No one was as good as his mentor, yep he had been under his wings when Rowan was younger then he started his own company when Orson Rhodes urged him to, seeing that he had never been good enough in following his boss’ order. And now Rowan was feeling guilty, maybe if he stayed at Rhodes their business wouldn’t suffer and little Cassie won’t be stripping naked for no man.
“You’re not the only one, I think someone has been pouting for the last two weeks since you forcefully dragged her home that night.” Rocco blurted, placing Rowan’s glass of Bourbon in front of him. It looked good enough to drink down in one gulp. But he decided to take a slow and sip the drink wanting to keep the conversation flowing with the chatty bartender.
“Yeah? she looked happy though,” Rowan eyed Cassidy at the stage. “I specifically told her not to go back here.” He knew he said the wrong thing the moment Rocco’s smile dropped.
“Why would you do that?”
Rowan wondered if he should tell him the truth and asked more about when she started working there, and what excuse did Cassie use when she interviewed for the job.
Weighing the consequences, thinking that it would do nothing but benefited his mission in stopping her from stripping for strangers, Rowan decided to tell him the truth. Well, a small part of it. He didn’t want the guy to gossip about Cassie’s private life.
“She’s my best friend’s daughter, her parents passed away months apart and now I’m blaming myself for not checking up on Cassidy and her little brothers. They wouldn’t want her to do this, you know?” Rowan sighed, thinking maybe the bartender didn’t care about Cassie’s reasons to dance at the club and he was right when the guy shrugged telling her that the dancers all have their reasons and he never pry.
Rocco paused their conversation to go to the other end of the bar where three men were laughing and ordering their drinks. In the meantime, Rowan was checking his phone when the blonde woman that he spotted earlier was by his side and put her hand on his lap.From NôvelDrama.Org.
Rowan felt the goosebump rising on his nape, he did not like the flirty touches. That was why he opted to go to a strip club rather than a sex club. The touches reminded him of his ex-wife, she was the A-grade queen bitch, the trophy wife that he gladly disposed of after finding her riding their pool boy.
“Though day? How ’bout a private dance?” she winked, biting her lip then moved her hand to call Rocco. She knew Rowan was checking her out, and he was upset about Cassidy, so if Rocco said she was jealous of the blonde then Rowan thought he’d milked the situation.
“Sure,” he smirked putting his glass after drinking it down and burning his throat sweetly while doing so.
“I’m Ivy,”
“Rowan,” he replied and let her usher him to one of the booths assigned for him.
“Just dance for me,” He slid the card and let her charge him for the dance.
The song was too fast, her body was too curvy, her hair was too blonde, and her sway was too sultry. Suddenly Rowan felt that Ivy was too much of everything and it took every part of him not to take his phone and insult the woman by faking an emergency.
Three more minutes, he thought. He can go through with this. He was still thinking about ways to spend the longest three minutes of his life when Cassidy emerged by opening the curtain dramatically. Rowan stilled, his dick was suddenly hardening at the sight of Cassie’s half-naked body.
“Um, I’m sorry to barge in, Ivy. Rowan, I need to talk to you. It’s an emergency.”
Ivy looked at her with a shrug, “If you know him, I’m cool. He already swiped. But if you stop now,” she said winking at Rowan, “you’ll need to swipe again, you still have less than three minutes.”
But Rowan was already up, thanking her, telling Ivy that he was done with the dance.
“What is it? is it your brothers?” he seemed to appear truly concerned and that just made Cassidy feel guiltier, but the mess was already done.
Cassidy was boiling with anger, she still didn’t understand why the moment she saw Ivy lead Rowan to the private booth. Cassidy didn’t even think twice when her on-stage routine ended. She walked straight to the booth revealing Rowan who was sitting casually, gazing at Ivy with his lazy eyes.
Cassie didn’t even think of a reason when she interrupted Ivy’s dance. But luckily Rowan was giving her an out, and she gladly took it and ended Rowan’s private lap dance right there and then.
“So, there was no emergency?” Rowan asked, smirking when they reached Cassidy’s apartment.
“Um no,” she blushed feeling the embarrassment.
“So, you know you owe me a lapdance, right?”
“Huh?” Cassidy looked at him, not believing his boldness.
“Ivy was going to strip for me when you interrupted, with a fake emergency.”
“Seriously?” she was shocked, certainly not expecting her to replace Ivy’s remaining session of the dance.
“Or, admit that you’re jealous that I picked Ivy.” Rowan, the hot silver fox was feeling generous. And also because he didn’t want to start whatever he was going to start with Cassidy by asking her to strip naked. He thought at least he needs to take her out on a proper date first, and obviously stop her from dancing at the club.
“Okay! I was jealous,” she huffed and slumped down to the sofa. Rowan joined her and out of spontaneity, he pulled her to sit on his lap which made her yelp while he chuckled and boldly continued to kiss her on the lips.
His mind kept on telling him to slow down, but he told himself that it was just a kiss. His hand cradled her slender neck and she opened her lips and moaned as their kiss got hotter by the second.
“I want to date you.” He stopped and backed away from the kiss.
“Huh? Why?”
“Why? Am I not dating material?” Rowan was still going back and forth in his mind regarding his decision in wanting to date her. He was too old for her, yet she was too beautiful and too alluring to let go. He intended to take everything slow and see where it goes from there. But he was not ready when it was her who questioned him.
“I, um…” Cassidy thought she might just get it over with tonight, she did want him badly enough that she thought she wanted to try sex from the first time in her adult life. “I don’t have time to date.”
Her flimsy excuse and rejection hit him hard, “You don’t have time to date, but you have time to strip?” he was up before she could explain and he was out the door, slamming the door shut behind him in frustration.
Cassidy exhaled and rest her head back on the sofa. Her head was pounding, she still has her homework and she has an early class in the morning. On top of that, she needs to have a chat with Gage to cut her hours at the club. Exam week is coming up and she needs to catch up on her study to pass her classes.